Appeals court debating issues surrounding defendant's probation

A three-judge appellate panel is considering when a prior allegation can be re-raised in revoking a defendant’s probation.

Judges from the Amarillo-based Seventh Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Tuesday morning in the case of Richard Scott Crawford.

Crawford was convicted of aggravated assault in 2005 and given 10 years’ deferred adjudication.

According to court documents, prosecutors tried several times to revoke his probation before doing so in 2012.

Crawford’s appellate attorney, Kristopher Espino, argued the judge in the case, Jim Bob Darnell, erred when he allowed prosecutors to base their motion to adjudicate on allegations that had been previously litigated.

Jeffrey Ford, an assistant Lubbock County Attorney, argued that some if those cases had not been addressed in previous motions before the court.

For more on this story, please check later with Lubbock Online, or see the story in Wednesdsy’s Avalanche-Journal.